One of the attractions in the town of Norzagaray in Bulacan is the huge formations of large limestone rocks found in Brgy Matictic. It is called Bakas, which literally translates to "marks", "traces" or "footprints".

The top of the large boulders offers a great vantage point to spot those interesting marks, supposedly left by the legendary giant known as Bernardio Carpio, and his pets. The other set of marks can be found in Wawa in Montalban, Rizal.

I biked there last weekend (an 81km loop, see related story here) but arrived when the river started to swell and its impossible to cross to the boulders without a raft. Bakas is downriver from two major dams: the Ipo and Angat dams and they release water from these dams usually at around 11 AM. By noon time the current's too strong that they would not even recommend swimming near the rocks.

If you fancy roughing it out here, the shores in front of the Bakas rocks are flat and wide enough to accommodate quite a good number of tents. There are also makeshift cottages (good enough shelter from the sweltering heat in the summer) that the caretaker is renting out for 200 pesos (overnight stay). Amenities: absolutely none!

There are a couple of nice swimming spots further upriver. But current's still a bit strong so its best to stay close to the shore.

Getting there:
The best way is to catch a bus or jeep going to Tungko from Philcoa in Quezon City. From Tungko there are many small buses and jeeps to Norzagaray town proper. Go to the town market and get a tricycle to Sitio Kanyakan where Bakas is. I have not noticed any jeeps going there so you may have to rent the tricycle also for the return trip.

Another weekend, another day of exploration. While most of our PMTB (Pinoy Mountain Bikers) friends were hitting the popular trails in Licao licao, I (together with a regular MTB companion - see his blog here) decided to veer off the beaten tracks and go somewhere else. The mission: find Bakas (in Norzagaray, Bulacan, some 30 km from home) and then find a way out of Bakas without passing through the main roads.

We started out early, woke up at 3:30AM, had an early breakfast, and was on the road by 5AM. The ride to Norzagaray was uneventful, we rode without rest stops. I notice my front hub to be a bit wobbly, strange since I just had it repacked a couple of days ago.

A few kilometers on the rough road from the town proper to Bakas, my front hub completely gave up on me (darn these amateur bike mechanics!). We were determined to reach our destination that day. So we (slowly) rode back to town, bought a cheap hub from a local bike shop and cannibalized the internals. After about 30 minutes we were back on the trail again.

The sight before us when we reached Bakas was worth all the troubles. The place was absolutely scenic! The place was called Bakas (translated to "tracks", "marks" or "footprints") because of the large limestone rocks and the interesting footprint like impressions and formations. Folklore has it that those were left by the giant named Bernardio Carpio and his pets. The other set of prints can be found in Wawa in Montalban, Rizal.

The river was running deep that time, so we were not able to cross to the big rocks. From there you should be able to see the marks.


From Bakas we explored upriver and found a nice picnic/swimming spot. The midday sun was getting hotter so we took shelter in one of the makeshift cottages along the river bank. Soon a group of excursionists arrived and started setting up camp. The overwhelming smell of their BBQ was to much for us, so before our mouths water we readied our gears and was soon heading further upriver.


We reached a point where the rideable riverbank vanished. The river started swelling and the water was getting deeper. There is a dam several kilometers upstream and they usually release water at around noon. From that point we can already see the quarry site of Holcim cement factory, one of the largest in the country.


Its either we head back to the nearest road or find a passable trail. The decision: find the trail. The folks at a nearby sand quarry was giving us perplexed looks when we headed to the nearby hill. We found a small foot trail, if people go by this way surely we can bike it, we reckon.

Soon there was no trail at all! We had to ride on top of large volcanic rocks and climb over bamboo fences (designed to keep livestock in/out). After a few push and pedal, we wound up in a rice field. At least now its bikeable :)


We were getting hungry and had to quickly find a way out of the rice paddies. We estimated where the road could be and pedalled to that direction. We ended up in someone's backyard and was met with curious and amused looks.

"You came from the rice fields? There's a road there, why didn't you use that?", a man said while pointing to the direction of the main road. We just smiled and politely asked permission to pass through. We found a small sari sari store and quietly ate our packed lunch there. We too were amused with the trail we took :).

From there its a ride passing through the Holcim factory grounds and then out to Tungko-Norzagaray highway. We took a quick break after reaching the main road, its going to be long pedal home on a hot stretch of highway.

We were home by 4PM, 81 kilometers later. Not a bad ride, we got to see a very beautiful place.

I haven't been out on a photo safari lately. Most of my weekends are spent mountain biking around the provinces of Rizal and Bulacan. And with the small point and shop cameras we carry around, photos are a hit and miss thing.

But sometimes you do hit something.

My ride last weekend took me to the eastern part of Norzagaray in Bulacan. My MTB buddies and I were hoping to catch a glimpse of Ipo and Angat dams, part of the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa Dam Raw Water System that provides drinking water to Metro Manila.

We were denied entry at Ipo but we decided to head to Angat dam in the Sierra Madre mountain range. A storekeeper told us of a quaint spot called "Bitbit" (Sitio Bitbit) just below the bridge leading to Angat dam.

True enough, the spot was amazing. The water was very cool and clear. The weather cooperated, lighting was good enough for me to take some decent snaps.


There's a flat area near the big rocks that's perfect for camping. I also saw some interesting rock formations up and down river.


We took a quick dip to cool down and rest. I did not have enough time to explore the area but I will on my next visit. We have a long way to pedal home.